E-commerce company Amazon acquired US-based Twitch, a social video platform for gamers backed by investors including Take-Two Interactive Software, yesterday in a cash deal worth $970m.
Founded in 2011 as a spin-off from online video streaming site Justin.tv, Twitch runs a streaming service focusing on video games, enabling gamers to upload footage of game playthroughs and competitive contests.
Speculation emerged in May that internet company Google was about to buy Twitch for about $1bn. However, those reports were put to rest in a blog post yesterday by Twitch CEO Emmett Shear.
“Amazon and Twitch optimise for our customers first and are both believers in the future of gaming,” Shear said in a separate statement.
“Being part of Amazon will let us do even more for our community. We will be able to create tools and services faster than we could have independently. This change will mean great things for our community, and will let us bring Twitch to even more people around the world.”
Twitch had raised $35m over two rounds from game publisher Take-Two, which participated in a $20m series B round last year, Bessemer Venture Partners, Alsop Louie Partners, Thrive Capital, WestSummit Capital and Draper Associates.